Socket moving device



` SePt- 11, 1934. c, PATTERSON 1,972,947

SOCKET MOVING DEVICE Sept. 11, 1934.

c. L. PATTERSON 1,972,947

SOCKET MOVING DEVICE Filed Aug. 20, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept.11, 1934 UNITED sTArTEfs PATENT oFF-ics This .invention relatesespecially .to a device for tilting l'or moving the .bulb of vanautomobile V.lamp relatively vto the reflector inwhch :it is mounted.Although -this idea -is-not new, broadly speaking,

5 in .thatthe accomplishment-has been,for..the purpose of placing thebulb so that its lainent is either -in or vout-of focalYposition.relativelyto its mounting reiiector, .in order to create a-rchange in light beam direction, characteristics, etc., .in

l this and my copending .application .Serial No.

v 608,658 there are disclosed the .novel ideas of multiple positionmechanisms whereby the placing-of a .lamp Abulb .in vany one of a seriesof positions relatively to its mounting reector .may be accomplished.

object of the inventionnow to -be described, is to produce meansvwhereby -the .movement of a lamp bulb through :a seriesof .dierentstations or stops may be accomplished quickly, accurately,

v f2.0 positively, successively,.and selectivelyfor .thepurposeoutlined.

A `further object 4is -to .produce vsuch a means as will Vmove va lampbulb electrically :relatively .to a

reflector, with a minimum -of energy-expenditure for currentconsumption, and in a manner such that the apparatusmay be controlledwith the greatest of ease and simplicity.

These `and other-objects are `attained in the socket moving devicedescribed .in the following specification and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which: Y

Fig. 1 is an enlargedelevational view, partially in section .such `as`would be taken onthe .line 1-1 of -Fig. -2, with the reflector.entirely removed,

n 35 showing my improved socket moving device in va desirable form Yofthe invention. i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of -thedevice shown in Fig. 1, a portionof the reflector being sho-wn fragment/ally .and .in section,inassoc'iation 40 therewith. l

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of theidevice .shownin ligs. 1 and .2, aportion of .the reector being shown in rconnection therewith, vand ythedevice shown inverted to illustrate .how .position .may be variedwit-hout aifectingoperation. l v

Fig. 4 i-is apartial elevation showing associated operativefdetailsof'fmy invention, :for thepurpose of .showing the diiferent positionswhich certain of the parts occupy at `different .stages of the operationofthe device,and for the purpose .of disclosing the `manner .which the.function performed by the device, produces the results whicharedesired.

, Fig. 5 is a perspective .view .of a detail Yof the 55 invention I amabout to describe, which detail constitutes animportant feature-of .myinvention.

The chosenform of myinvention is constructed onand about a frameconstitutinga .sheet metal plate 11 which yisfastened to the `.rear-of.the reflector 12 with which the device is functioned. 60 This plate ismountedupon k-the .rear of the -refiector by means of .a `angeandthreaded .collar 13 which vlies against `the `inner v.finished surfaceof the reflector, asshownin v1igs.2.aa.nd.3. .Aportion 14 of the plate11 extends rearwardly. and is provided with V.two extending bearinglugsl 15 and 16 for the lamp bulb connector 17 `pivotally to mount it,`asrepresented .in `fullrand dotted .line positions of the socket.andbulb, .in Fig. .3. `In addition -to vthe bearing vlugs -1`5 -and.1.6 there are provided lugs 18 and 19 which extendto opposite sides ofthe extension Y14 .in front of lugs 15 .and 16, for `the purpose of.mounting `the operating magnets 20 and 21 -by `means of which.themovements functioning the operation of the device, are initiated.rIhe plate 11 is provided further with Aan extending .portion .22l which,pivotally mounts .a ,ratchet cam 23 which .has oscillating movement forthe purpose ofcreating .an -upward and `downward movement of the .lampsocket and its .mounted bulb as will .be described. This ratchet cam,which :is Yillustratedin detail in Fig. 5, .andwhich is shown .in the-various figures of the drawings under referencenumeral 23., in ,theform .of a piece .having four Jbranches, with the .pivot `1coinlt-2fi-centrally located, .three ofthe branches 25,26 .and 271being notched'asandfor the purpose which will be descril; ed,f.the,remain-A ingbranch .being provided with .aneccentric end surface .28fconstitutingacam vbyimeans of which the socket is causedto 4moveto and from. thedotted .andfull line'v positions shown .inFig.. l3 and alsoshownsomewhat.diag-rammatically in Fig. 4. The toothed branch .27 of the .ratchet camis provided with an end turned at .right angles vto the substantialplane of .the cam, for gthe purpose of placing the :teeth inposition tobe engaged rby .thedetent f spring 29 which -constitutes a pawl,andwhich is vfastened at poi-nts 30 and 31 on the plate 11. Thus, theratchet cam .may 'be retained in .any one of the positions to, which .itmay be moved and which are .determined .by the number of teeth in thebranch..2'7.v Thus,..there are three teeth 27a, 2Zband.2,7c, as .shownespecially in Fig. 5,'wl-1ichv will determine the 'fact that the ratchetcam may be moved toany one of -three positionsand thereby be retained inany one of these positionsby the detent 29,'as suggested Iin Fig. V2.yAs stops'forv the movements of the f ratchet" cam, Iphave ,provided stop1ugs2'7d and m0 27e on branch 27 of the ratchet cam, as shown especiallyin Figs. 2 and 5. Therefore, in order to correspond with the three teeth27a, 27h and 27o, I have provided on each of the branches and 2-6, acorresponding number of three teeth each. The teeth 25a, 25h and 25e ofbranch 25, are adapted to move the ratchet cam counter'- clockwise asviewed in Fig. 1, by means of a pawl 32, the connection of which and itsoperation, being described presently. On branch 26, I have provided aseries of three teeth 26a, 26h' and 26o, which, through a pawl 33,correspondingtopawl 32, will cause movement of the ratchet camin aclockwise direction through connection and a functioning which will bedescribed presently.l

In order that the socket 17 may be caused to rock upon the bearings 15and 16, `the cam 28 has been provided for moving the socket against thetension of Ya compression spring 34 which is centered upon a stud 35 inthe rearward extension 14 of plate 11 of the socket'moving device. Thus,the spring 34 will hold the socket and its bulb in one position, whilecam 28 will function to move the socket and bulb against its tensionwhen moved in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. l; andrallow the socket tov return in response to action of the spring, whenthe cam is moved in clockwise directionfThis, because of the threeteeth27ay27b and 27o, will take place manner in which operation of thesemagnets will cause the pawlsto function. Each magnet consists of a spool36 containing a winding 37 which is located within a shell 38 or casingof magnetic material. A partial core 39 is located within the magnet andis provided with a stern 4.0 by means of which a nut 41 will clamp themagnet assembly to the lugs 18 or 19 to which it is to be fastened. Thispartial core 39 extends only part way into the magnet spool and isprovided with a conical recess 42 into which the coned end of a plunger43 projects for the purpose of creating a magnetic pull of relativelygreat force and, at the same time, to be able to move the plungerthrough a relatively great distance. A pivot 44 at the upper 'end of theplunger 43, mounts the pawl 32 or 33 pivotally, vso that when theplunger is drawn down, the pawl also will be drawn downwardly. Each pawlis provided with outwardly extending fingers 45 and Y46 which extendinto slots 47 and 48 on the casing 38of the magnet, upward and downwardmovement of the plunger 43 operating to move pawl 32 or 33', therebycausing their outwardly extending iingers 45 and 46 also to Atravelinthe slots 47 and 48 of the magnet casing 38. Back of the fingers 45and 46of each of the pawls is located al coil spring 49 ofthe conicaltype, the magnet end cf thev spring resting on the head of the magnetind the opposite end of the spring vextending euzwardly throughY slot 43and lying against finger 46 of the pawl, whereby, when the plunger 43 ismoved intothe magnet winding 37, the outwardly extending end of spring49' will bear against finger 46 ofthe pawl andthus operate to throwV thepawl 32 .toward the teeth of ratchet cam branch 2 5 or 26,wherebyengagement of the pawlwith the teeth will beaccomvplished.eachtimethe magnet plunger is drawn into the magnet.winding 37,.in` this manner causing the ratchet cam tobemoved in a stepby step manner, the spring 49-acting torestore theplungf er and pawl toextended position after each exci- `spring 49 functions to throwthe pawlinto engagement with the tooth of the toothed end 25 or 26 of theratchet cam for the purpose of moving the bulb socket.

Limitation .of movement of the ratchet cam to lone side or the other ofits swing, is accomplished by providing lugs 52 and 53 on each side offrame plate 11, whereby the turned over ends of branch 27 will bebrought to engage its stops 27d and 27e with these lugs 52 and 53 ateach end of the swing of the ratchet cam. Therefore', after each of thepawls 32 and 38 have operated to move all three' of the teeth of eachset, these pawls cannot cause any further movement of the ratchet cambecause "100 the cam is held positivelyy against further movement. v

The operation of the device I have just described is simple and', fromthe description which has been given above, itsfunctioning may appear 5to be obvious. However, vin order that there may be no mistake as to theexact performance'of the mechanism, the following description is given.First of all, let it be assumed that the normal position of the lampbulb is that in which the'iilament occupies the focal region of thereiiector. Such a position affords a desirable light for purposes ofdriving through the country districts where the only source ofillumination comes from the vehicle headlamps. filament aifords apenetrating beam which projects far ahead of the vehicle and illuminatesthe road surface desirably, as well as the objects to either side of theroad and adjacent thereto. Such a beam is not desirable for purposes ofcity driving where the streets are illuminated and where the glare ofthe cars headlamps is objectionable for various reasons. Therefore, inorder to vovercome these objections, movement This position of the bulbof the lamp bulb to a position out of the focal region of the reflector,is desirable. To 'illustrate thesetwo relative positions, I have shown,in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the dotted line nonfocal position and thefull line focal position. In

dotted lines in Fig. 4, I have shown the focal,

position of the lamp bulb connector by means of the circle 54 and thedotted position V55 of the cam 28, in which the cam pushes the connectoragainst the tension of spring 34. Obviously, when it is desired that theconnector shall be moved to ar 17 in ord-er that it may pivot and movethe lampy bulb to the dotted line out of focal position shown in Fig. 3.Therefore, all that remains to accomplish these two movements is tofunction the operation of the two magnets 20V and 21 vso that the twopawls 32 and 33fwill operate as now described. Assuming the positionofthe ratchet cam to be as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the spring 49 -ineach of thevmagnet structures 20 and'21, being V,

extended, will cause pressure-upon the pawls 32 and 33, whereby theplungers 43 will be lifted and the pawls 32 and 33 held in position suchas shown in Figs. 1 and 4. In addition to this, the end 50 of the spring49, extending through slot 48 in the casing 38 of the magnet structure,will bear upon iinger 46 of the pawl and tend to press the pawl towardthe teeth of the ratchet cam. However, the wire ring 51 which retainsthe pawl and its attached plunger 43 in position, will come into actionupon the plunger 43 having moved the pawl to its position away from theratchet teeth, whereby the fingers 45 and 46 will engage the wire ringand hold the pawl away from the teeth, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1and 4. However, when the coil 37 of the magnet is energized, the plunger43 will be drawn into the winding, thereby drawing pawl 32 anddisengaging fingers 45 and 46 from the wire ring 51, whereupon the end50 of spring 49 will exert a yielding pressure upon finger 46 andoperate to move pawl 32 into engagement with the tooth 25a, as shown inFig. 4 in dotted lines. Continued movement of the plunger 43, until itengages core 39, will cause the tooth 25a to be pulled, thereby movingtheV ratchet cam about its pivot 24 the distance equal to the spacebetween teeth. This will occasion the cam surface 28 sliding over thesocket and will result in movement of the socket 'm a slightly depressedposition, whereby the lamp bulb filament will approach the focal centerof the reflector. Upon releasing the plunger 43 and pawl 32, spring 49will move them so that the pawl may be caused to engage tooth 25h uponreenergizing the magnet coil 37, thus resulting in a further movement ofthe ratchet cam to produce an additional depression of the socket, thusbringing the lamp bulb filament still closer to the focal center.Deenergizing magnet coil 37 will again result in the plunger 43 and pawl32 being allowed to move under pressure of spring 49, so that they willbe in position for the pawl to engage tooth 25o, reenergization of themagnet again causing pawl 32 to draw upon the ratchet cam and therebydepress the socket until the lamp bulb iilament has been moved to focalregion position relatively to the reflector. It will be observed thatspring latch 29 will function to engage each of the teeth 27a, 27h and27C successively in the function of retaining the ratchet cam in itspositions as determined by the operation of the motor mechanismrepresented by the magnet 20 and pawl 32.

Now, motor or magnet 20 having been functioned to cause pawl 32 tooperate the ratchet cam 23 to cause the bulb socket to be moved to focalposition, such as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the motor or magnet2l is functioned to produce an elevation of the bulb in order that thelight beam may be depressed for ordinary driving purposes. This, throughpawl 33 operating upon teeth 26a, 2Gb and 26o, causes the ratchet cam tobe moved to a position such as shown in Fig. 1, in which cam face 28 hasallowed the socket to be lifted by spring 34, and, in doing so, causesthe movement to take place in three steps, thereby functioning theplacing of the light bulb so as to aiTOrd three types of light beam forillumination purposes. Again, it is obvious that the latch 29 functionsto retain the bulb and its mounting socket in any one of the threepositions.

In view of the foregoing, it is obvious that, at any stage, the movementof the ratchet cam may be stopped and reversed, thereby occasioning areturn to one position or another with but the mere use of a simpleswitch in circuitv with each magnet motor, or a single switch havingdouble contact construction.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A socket moving device comprising in combination with a reflector, alamp bulb socket, means to mount the socket for rocking movement tobring a bulb therein into and out'of focal region placement relativelyto the reflector, a cam pivotallymounted adjacent to and in engagementwith the socket to move it in one direction and i permit its movement inthe opposite direction, yielding means tensioned by the socket movementin the first mentioned direction and causing socket movement in thesecond mentioned direction, a motor to move the cam in one of saiddirections, a motor to move the cam in the other of said directions, aseparate ratchet mecha- Vnism associating the cam with each motor, and

independent means on each motor automatically disassociating the ratchetmechanism associated therewith upon reaching one limit ofmovement Y ofsaid mechanism.

2. A socket moving device comprising in combination with a reflector, alamp bulb socket, means to mount the socket for rocking movement tobring the bulb therein into and out of focal region placement relativelyto the reflector, a cam pivotally mounted adjacent to and in engagementwith the socket to move it in one direction and permit its movement inthe opposite direction, yielding means tensioned by the socket movementin the first mentioned direction and causing socket movement in thesecond mentioned direction, a motor to move the cam in one of saiddirections, a motor to move the cam in the other of said directions, aseparate ratchet mechanism associating the cam with each motor,independent means on each motor automatically disassociating the ratchetmechanism associated therewith upon reaching a chosen limit of movementof said mechanism, said two independent means being adaptedsimultaneously to disassociate the ratchet mechanisms from the motors,whereby the cam may be disconnected from both motors at the same time,and a lock operating automatically to retain said cam in any of theratchet adjusted positions upon disassociation of the ratchet mechanismstherewith.

CLARENCE L. PATTERSON.

